The present invention relates to telecommunication networks and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing notification of network conditions.
In large telecommunications networks, various systems and personnel monitor the network resources to ensure that the network is performing properly. When a problem occurs with one of the network resources, such as a switch or a router, a person responsible for monitoring that piece of equipment may call a central monitoring facility to report the equipment failure. The central monitoring facility personnel may relay this information to each of the individuals, groups, departments, etc. concerned with maintaining the piece of failed equipment and to traffic engineers concerned with diverting network traffic around the failed equipment.
One drawback with such conventional monitoring practices is that personnel at the central monitoring facility must individually call each of the particular parties involved in resolving the problem and rerouting the traffic. This typically requires a considerable amount of time associated with looking up telephone numbers and pager numbers and then informing the various designated parties of the problem. In telecommunications networks, network downtime may be very costly to the end user. Therefore, manually placing telephone calls to alert various personnel adds to the downtime and further increases the costs associated with network downtime. Another drawback with such systems is that the central monitoring facility personnel get tied up calling maintenance personnel and are taken away from other duties that they perform.
There exists a need for a system that facilitates notifying personnel of network conditions.
These and other needs are met by the present invention, where a client/server interface allows users to input information regarding network conditions and to select recipients for a notification message. The server then handles the transmission of a notification message to the designated recipients.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method for providing notification regarding a change in a telecommunications network is provided. The method includes receiving information relating to a change in status of a network resource and at least one recipient for notification of the change. The method also includes automatically notifying the at least one recipient.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readable medium that includes stored sequences of instructions that are executed by a processor. The instructions cause the processor to obtain identifying information from a user and transmit a user interface to the user based on the identifying information. The instructions further cause the processor to obtain information representing a change in status of a network resource and at least one recipient of a notification message and send the notification message to the at least one recipient.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description. The embodiments shown and described provide illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. The invention is capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.